Need advice on what to do with old bed liner and while we are at it sealing up these scratches.

[AuroraGirl]

Thank Taylor, Pretty much I've put everything on hold, bedliner, interior carpet ect all on hold. IDK, if you have seen the thread but my transmission is going out now. Short version is there is bearing noise coming from the 1st / reverse shaft. I'm still driving it and using it, but want to get it rebuilt in the next month or two so it does not go out and leave me on the side of the road with a bed full of feed.

I also occasionally slide loaded pallets in and out of the truck. I can't tell you how hard that can be with that stupid spray on bedliner. I'm sure I've torn it up doing that too. Well if a cheap enough used bedliner comes along I'll grab it anyway even though I'm trying to shut down any unneeded expenses so I can do this tranny.

well if you prefer something a bit more attainable,

Plywood, preferably the thick and nice surfaced stuff(Used for floors or maybe something else IDRK) its heavy and has a consistent surface vs a normal plywood look. Even if it was cheaper plywood.


4x8 sheet lays down in the bed nice, secure it, and either coat it in something slick durable or just use it as is and it will do a lot for you that way even.

 

[SirRobyn0]

well if you prefer something a bit more attainable,

Plywood, preferably the thick and nice surfaced stuff(Used for floors or maybe something else IDRK) its heavy and has a consistent surface vs a normal plywood look. Even if it was cheaper plywood.


4x8 sheet lays down in the bed nice, secure it, and either coat it in something slick durable or just use it as is and it will do a lot for you that way even.

My Dad had a 78 GMC K20 from 1980 - about 1996, he cut two pieces of 3/4" plywood, so they would fit around the wheel wells and cover the entire bed bottom. IDK what or if he coated it with. It was pretty rough on the lead edge by the mid-90's but I think he must have been treating it at least earlier on. Anyhow I've thought very much about doing that, either a single sheet or cutting two down, with the price of wood it would probably have to be just one lol.

 

[SirRobyn0]

Ok so I'm going to bring this thread up again. As refresher this is a quote from the first post:

"MY 84 C20. Someone many, many moons ago bed linered it. It was done by a company in the Portland area. I've never been a fan of spray in bed liners myself, but it's already there. So what's the problem you might ask, well it's falling apart and my attempts to slow it down have been unsuccessful."

That was August 2nd 2022. Despite a few "patch attempts", which basically means filling in anything that tears up, it's getting much worse. You can see the pics from a year ago on post #1 but below is current:

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Below: The big spot and look at all the many smaller spots that have opened up!

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By the tailgate you can see old bedliner and attempted new patches.

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New plan. I'm gonna grab hold of all the loose stuff I can and rip up anything and everything that is loose and willing to come off the floor of the truck. Then I'm going to pressure wash it, wipe it down with lacquer thinner. I'd like to do that tomorrow morning. Then on Monday I'll coat the entire floor with fresh bedliner using a lownap roller because I want as little texture as possible.

So, please give me advice, or encouragement or discouragement as you see fit.

Thanks!

 

[Radiohead]

Have you given any consideration to installing thin straps of UHMW or such in the depressions in the bed, to give yourself a durable "slick" on the floor? They would only need to be an eigth of a inch or so above the deck..... I'm thinking 1/4" thick strips, an inch wide...

 

[scrap--metal]

No advice here, but you have my full encouragement.

I'm always interested to see what you come up with, Rob. It's usually real good stuff.

 

[Grit dog]

Ok so I'm going to bring this thread up again. As refresher this is a quote from the first post:

"MY 84 C20. Someone many, many moons ago bed linered it. It was done by a company in the Portland area. I've never been a fan of spray in bed liners myself, but it's already there. So what's the problem you might ask, well it's falling apart and my attempts to slow it down have been unsuccessful."

That was August 2nd 2022. Despite a few "patch attempts", which basically means filling in anything that tears up, it's getting much worse. You can see the pics from a year ago on post #1 but below is current:

You must be registered for see images attach

Below: The big spot and look at all the many smaller spots that have opened up!

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

By the tailgate you can see old bedliner and attempted new patches.

You must be registered for see images attach

New plan. I'm gonna grab hold of all the loose stuff I can and rip up anything and everything that is loose and willing to come off the floor of the truck. Then I'm going to pressure wash it, wipe it down with lacquer thinner. I'd like to do that tomorrow morning. Then on Monday I'll coat the entire floor with fresh bedliner using a lownap roller because I want as little texture as possible.

So, please give me advice, or encouragement or discouragement as you see fit.

Thanks!

Idk how hard that crap is to sandblast off, but I’d try if it works.
Maybe got a shop contact for a buddy deal to de-bedliner it?
Otherwise I’d hide that with a drop in liner forever so it didn’t hurt my brain looking at it.

And reason #6 or 9 why I don’t like spray in liners either. At least it’s only in the bed.

 

[SirRobyn0]

@Radiohead No I had not thought about that before I read your idea. I like that it solves the high traction nature of the bedliner I don't like. My main concern would be if it would stick to the textured bedliner well enough.

@scrap--metal Thanks for that, it is always my hope that others find what I do interesting and / or useful.

@Grit dog That was the original plan. Patch the bedliner, try to keep it going, if that didn't work out, drop in an UNDER the bed rail plastic liner, which is my preferred bed liner anyway. I've been and will continue to keep an eye out for one used. Last time I priced them new, they were in the $250ish range, but shipping is pretty steep.

I have a blast cabinet at work but no practical way to get a blaster into the bed, plus from what I have read it won't work. The only thing that will fully remove a bed liner is a heat gun and a scraper. I'm not interested in that. It's not practical IMO to remove it. I'd rather fix it, and cover it over eventually. So I guess the answer is I'm to cheap to buy a new drop in bed liner, but ya I can't stand looking at it as is anymore!

I had a 77 Toyota P/U a long time ago that some moron pulled the carpet out of and bed linered the floor. Impossible to get clean, and it was a super heavy texture, so if you had to work under the dash you'd get scrapped up elbows too.

 

[Radiohead]

I visualize the straps of uhmw would be held in place with countersunk screws nutted from below, 3 or 4 per.

I don't have any bedliner in my bed but like the idea of the sliders on the bed

 

[Grit dog]

@SirRobyn0
I’ll keep my eye out for a bedliner.
You ever ask Kenny Whitman I think it is? He’s up your way, he’s the Precison seals guy. He’s always buying selling and peddling squares and parts on FB. $250 is too much I agree.

 

[SirRobyn0]

I visualize the straps of uhmw would be held in place with countersunk screws nutted from below, 3 or 4 per.

I don't have any bedliner in my bed but like the idea of the sliders on the bed

I will think about your idea some. Thanks.

@SirRobyn0
I’ll keep my eye out for a bedliner.
You ever ask Kenny Whitman I think it is? He’s up your way, he’s the Precison seals guy. He’s always buying selling and peddling squares and parts on FB. $250 is too much I agree.

He's just a little bit further east on highway 2. Yes I've asked, but not recently. I've never really had much luck with Kenny having what I need when I'm after it so I tend to forget about he's there lol. I should shoot him a E-mail one of these days.

 

[Soundmound]

They take undercoating off with dry ice blasting. Maybe you could get a block of dry ice and a needler to make short work of the liner?

 

[bucket]

I will think about your idea some. Thanks.

He's just a little bit further east on highway 2. Yes I've asked, but not recently. I've never really had much luck with Kenny having what I need when I'm after it so I tend to forget about he's there lol. I should shoot him a E-mail one of these days.

He's brought in some more trucks recently too.

 

[SirRobyn0]

They take undercoating off with dry ice blasting. Maybe you could get a block of dry ice and a needler to make short work of the liner?

I guess this is my thing with removing the bed liner. Then what? I spend a day or 1/2 a day getting it off and I bet I'd be left with patches of missing paint. I guess at that point I'd get better adhesion with a fresh layer of bed liner.

He's brought in some more trucks recently too.

Thanks I've sent him a message.

Lets talk about right now. I pulled off what was willing to come off this morning. What I have used in the past to patch it up was bedliner in a spray can. The original stuff is thick and rubbery. Whatever spray I used is much harder and more brittle. Pieces of the original stuff are flexible and rubbery, where as the stuff I sprayed will break if flexed.

Can any of you give me a suggestion on a readily available bed liner that will be more flexible than brittle, and preferably with not a tremendous amount of texture. I was going to try a roll on liner, but I'm open to suggestions.

Again the long term plan is to get the bed liner up to snuff, and cover it with a drop in plastic liner when I find one, but in the mean time I need to something.... Thanks.

 

[Grit dog]

Never seen any rattle can liner that is like the actual rhino stuff.
But there’s a plethora of mfgs making diy roll on bedliner products. Quart and gallon kits. Idk which ones are soft rubber though if any.

 

[SirRobyn0]

Never seen any rattle can liner that is like the actual rhino stuff.
But there’s a plethora of mfgs making diy roll on bedliner products. Quart and gallon kits. Idk which ones are soft rubber though if any.

So I should give an update on this anyway. I'm looking at the options. The problem is most of the products that might work out ok for me are about $100 or more for a gallon. One of the guys at the shop who has some bed liner experience suggested using a low nap paint roller to get a little less texture. IDK, I'm tempted to scrap the idea. I don't wanna spend $100 for something I don't even like....